Blaming California’s lingering recession, Pacific Telesis Group,...

Blaming California’s lingering recession, Pacific Telesis Group, operator of the state’s largest cellular and phone networks, reported Wednesday that second-quarter profit fell 11% to $282 million.

Profit in the year-ago quarter was $316 million, in part due to a one-time gain of $28 million. Without that gain, year-ago profit would have been $288 million, or 2% higher than that posted in the latest period.

Revenue in the latest quarter was $2.5 billion, down 1% from $2.52 billion in the same period last year.

“California’s lingering recession continues to affect our financial results,” said Sam Ginn, chairman and chief executive. “But while we cannot control the economy, the Bell companies are taking rigorous steps to control their costs.”

At the end of the quarter, the number of employees at Pacific Bell, Pacific Telesis’ local phone company unit, totaled 56,993, down 3,995 workers, or 6.6%, from the prior year.

However, the recession has cut phone revenue. For the quarter, Pacific Bell revenue was $2.21 billion, compared to $2.26 billion a year ago. Net income was $286 million, compared to $281 million in the year-ago period.

Another regional phone company, Chicago-based Ameritech, reported that earnings increased 12.9% in the second quarter.

Ameritech reported earnings of $343 million, or $1.28 a share, up from $303.9 million, or $1.15 a share, for the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Sprint Corp.’s earnings rose 6% in the second quarter, despite lower long-distance operating income because of costs associated with new products, the St. Louis-based company said.

The profit of $94 million, or 43 cents a share, was up from $89 million, or 41 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago, the No. 3 long-distance carrier said. Revenue increased to $2.28 billion from $2.21 billion.